CHAPTER 3: WIZARDS ON A PLANE
"Please put your bag here and step through there." The portly African-American woman in the blue security uniform nodded to the conveyor belt, then the square open frame next to it.
Jared Diaz canted his head. "Um, why?"
"We have to scan your bag as well as your person."
"Scan?" Jared checked out the devices. "How the heck are you supposed to do that?"
The guard sighed and narrowed her eyes at Jared.
Jimmy O'Bannon reached around Rosa Infante and slapped Jared on the shoulder. "Dude, trust me. Just do it."
Holding his breath, Jared hesitantly laid his backpack on the conveyor belt. He watched it disappear into the maw of the boxy machine, a forlorn look on his face, like he may never see it again.
"Please step through the metal detector," the guard said flatly.
"What?" Jared's face scrunched up. "We can't bring metal on a plane?"
Rosa leaned closer to O'Bannon and whispered, "What's wrong with metal? Does it mess up the plane or something?"
O'Bannon closed his eyes. This is gonna be a long friggin' flight.
"Just step through the metal detector," the guard sounded impatient.
A few people in line behind them grumbled. O'Bannon nodded emphatically for Jared to go through.
Pausing for a second, he put one foot forward and slid through.
The metal detector didn't go off.
Sighing audibly, Jared went to the end of the x-ray machine conveyor belt and beamed when he saw his backpack intact.
Rosa went next. She put her backpack into the x-ray machine, then reached into her pants pocket. "Um, I have this pocket watch made out of metal. That won't do anything bad to the plane, will it?"
The guard wrinkled her chubby face in annoyance. "You should have put all metal objects in one of the trays at the entrance to this station. Here. Give it to me."
"I'll get it back, right? That watch belonged to my grandfather."
"You'll get it back." The guard practically snatched the golden watch from Rosa's hand.
Rosa went through the metal detector without incident and collected her pocket watch and backpack at the other end.
O'Bannon stepped up to the guard and smiled. "You'll have to forgive my friends. They grew up, um, in the country. Farm kids, you know."
"Uh-huh." The guard appeared not to give a crap.
O'Bannon went through security without a problem, as did Artimus Rand.
"So, let me get this straight," Jared said as they walked through the spacious corridor of Logan International Airport. "That box thing back there could actually see into our backpacks?"
"Yeah. It's an x-ray machine," O'Bannon answered.
"And they can do that without magic?" Jared's eyes widened. "That is just too cool."
"What about the metal?" Rosa spoke quicker than normal. "Why do they have a thing about metal on a plane?"
"It's not metal, per say," O'Bannon told her as they turned to the left, following the signs to the appropriate gate. "They're really looking for guns and knives so people don't use them to hijack the plane."
"Hijack?" Artimus wore a quizzical expression.
"You know, take over the plane."
Artimus still looked confused. "Why would anyone want to hijack a plane?"
O'Bannon shrugged. "To make a political statement, mostly. At least that's the case for Muggle terrorist groups."
"Does it happen a lot?" Rosa asked.
"It used to during the 70s and 80s. Honestly it almost never happens nowadays."
Rosa nodded, though she didn't look one hundred percent convinced.
They eventually arrived at their assigned gate. Once there they had nearly an hour to wait before their flight took off.
O'Bannon, Jared and Artimus headed off to the various stores and cafes lining the terminal. Rosa remained in the waiting area, drumming her fingers on her knees. O'Bannon returned with a couple bags of Doritos and a Pepsi. Artimus had two handfuls of his favorite Muggle candy, Twix Bars.
"I still can't understand how no one in the Wizarding World ever thought of this." He held a candy bar in front of him. "Chocolate covered cookies with caramel. Amazing how Muggles can cram so much stuff into one piece of candy without magic. Too bad more purebloods don't appreciate them."
"I think it'll take more than a candy bar for that to happen." O'Bannon half frowned.
Jared came back chewing on a huge icing covered sticky bun, a look of pure delight on his face.
"What's that?" Rosa asked her cousin as he flopped down next to her.
"I got it from this booth called Cinnabon." He took another bite and moaned with joy. "Merlin, this is so good. This has to rank up there with cheeseburgers and Dunkin' Donuts as my favorite Muggle foods."
Jared swallowed and turned to Rosa. "You oughta get one, too. I'm telling you, you'll love it."
Rosa eyed the sticky bun warily. "Are you kidding? If I eat that I'll have to run five miles just to burn it off."
"You should run five miles anyway. You're starting to look a bit chunky around the thighs, cuz." Jared chuckled and took another bite of his sticky bun.
Rosa's face tightened. She glared at Jared. O'Bannon feigned shock at Jared's burn, while Artimus covered his mouth and silently laughed.
"You know . . ." Rosa brought up her elbows. "I can't believe how late it is. Boy, am I tired."
She yawned and stretched out her arms.
Her left hand smacked Jared's right hand, the one holding the sticky bun. It smashed into his face. He jerked in surprise. The bun tumbled down his dark sweater, onto his lap, and fell to the floor.
He swung his head toward Rosa, mouth agape, icing and brown crumbs decorating his face.
Rosa gasped in mock innocence. "Oops. I'm sorry."
O'Bannon and Artimus convulsed in hysterics as Jared wiped at the icing and crumbs on his face. He only succeeded in making his hands sticky.
"Dammit." Jared picked up his fallen bun and examined it. Dust and hair and God only knew what else covered it.
"Oh, I dare you to eat," a grinning O'Bannon urged.
Jared scowled at him. "I'll be in the bathroom."
He got up, muttering a few choice expletives, slammed the half-eaten bun into a garbage can and stomped toward the nearest men's room.
Rosa folded her arms, a satisfied smile on her face.
Jared returned a few minutes later, all washed up. He'd just rounded a row of seats when a little boy about four-years-old with a crown of blond hair darted past him, arms extended and howling. Jared skidded to a halt, barely avoiding the boy.
"Jeez, kid. Watch it."
The boy didn't even acknowledge Jared. He ran around the row again, wailing loudly.
"Nicky, stop it," said a round woman with curled blond hair and glasses pulling a wheeled travel bag.
Nicky halted near a plaster pillar. He looked it up and down, then pounded on it, howling again.
"Nicky, settle down. Come sit with Momma."
She repeated herself three times before Nicky joined her in a seat across from the quartet. Only instead of sitting down, Nicky knelt in front of his seat and beat on it like a drum. It took his mother several "stop its" before Nicky actually stopped.
"Please tell me that little brat isn't on our flight." The corners of Rosa's mouth twisted in irritation.
"I wish." O'Bannon frowned.
Rosa rolled her eyes. "Do me a favor. If I ever consider having children, just hit me with a Redactor Curse."
O'Bannon watched as Nicky stood on his seat and danced around, making unintelligible noises.
"Yeah, I think the woman I marry, we're going to make an Unbreakable Vow. No children."
The quartet did their best to ignore Nicky's babbling and jumping and pounding. O'Bannon, Artimus and Jared killed time talking about the upcoming U.S. Quidditch Association season, yesterday's insanely hard Potions test and trying to convince Artimus the hot redhead from the Jingosocke Hall Wizard Chess Club really liked him. Rosa, however, kept to herself, examining her folded hands while her right foot bounced up and down. O'Bannon wondered if she might be nervous. He doubted it. Someone as adventurous as Rosa would be looking forward to flying on an airplane. Though remembering the handful of times he flew, there wasn't much to look forward to.
Well, if you're a Muggle, that is. He remembered how awed Rosa had been the first time he showed her the microwave oven at his home. If a simple device like that astounded her, what must she think of an airplane?
Another thought struck him.
Maybe she's thinking about our mission.
Before he could dwell on it further, a voice from the loudspeaker above announced boarding would begin for their flight.
They grabbed their backpacks and stood . . . except Rosa.
"Yo, Rosa," Jared blurted. "Shake a leg."
"Huh?" Her head snapped up. "Um. Yeah, sure."
She grabbed her backpack and slowly rose.
"You okay?" asked O'Bannon.
"Yeah, I'm fine."
O'Bannon cocked an eyebrow. "You sure?"
"I said I'm fine," Rosa about snapped. "Let's . . . let's just go."
O'Bannon wanted to ask again, but given the tone of her last answer didn't dare. He just nodded and joined the procession toward the access door.
It was there, waiting in line to give the flight attendant his boarding pass, that reality set in. Twelve hours from now they'd be in Scotland, headed for Hogwarts. Not for a visit, but to sneak into the school and warn Headmaster Dumbledore about the Longathian Tunnel.
O'Bannon's heart pounded harder. He thought of all the dark creatures bound for England to bolster You-Know-Who's army. Would England really fall if the Order or the Guild didn't find the tunnel in time?
An icy feeling spread across his shoulders. Butterflies the size of dragons darted through his stomach. God in Heaven, did the fate of two continents, the fate of millions of people, rest on his shoulders?
"Ticket please."
"Huh?" O'Bannon looked at the smiling flight attendant, a pretty Asian woman.
"Oh, um, yeah. Here."
The woman ripped off the bottom portion of his ticket and handed it back to him. "Enjoy your flight."
O'Bannon simply nodded and headed through the door.
You can do this. You've fought Death Eaters. You can do this.
The quartet's seats were located toward the middle of the plane. O'Bannon and Artimus sat on one side and Rosa and Jared on the other.
And right behind Jared and Rosa sat little Nicky and his mother.
"You gotta be kidding," Jared muttered, rolling his eyes to the seat behind him.
Midnight arrived by the time everyone took their seats. The plane looked about half full. Small video monitors lowered from the ceiling.
"They have TVs on planes?" Jared gaped at the monitors.
"Yeah," O'Bannon answered. "We even get an in-flight movie. Hopefully one that doesn't suck."
A brief presentation on safety instructions played on the monitor. O'Bannon casually watched it and checked over the accompanying safety pamphlet. Rosa, he noticed, studied her pamphlet with Hermione Granger-like intensity.
"When are we gonna go?" little Nicky shouted. "When are we gonna go?"
Rosa crushed the sides of her pamphlet.
The plane taxied onto the runway. After sitting still for a few minutes, the whine of the engines grew louder. A bump vibrated the plane. It rolled down the runway, faster and faster.
O'Bannon clenched his armrests. A feeling of finality closed around him.
No turning back now.
The plane rose into the air.
Someone screamed.
Actually, two people screamed.
Little Nicky unleashed a wail that would make a Banshee cringe.
It barely blotted out Rosa's shriek.
"Calm down, Rosa." Jared gripped his cousin's arm. "It's gonna be fine."
"How do you know?" Rosa's voice quivered. "How can they keep something this big in the air without . . .
"I said it's gonna be fine," Jared cut her off before she could say "magic." "Jimmy wouldn't bring us on this thing if he didn't think it was safe."
The plane dipped.
Rosa practically hyperventilated.
O'Bannon glanced at Artimus. He gripped his armrests tightly and clenched his jaw. Still he was dealing with this better than Rosa.
O'Bannon turned back to Rosa. His eyes widened when he watched the color drain from her face. He couldn't believe it. She looked terrified. Rosa Infante. Miss I-Love-Adventure. Miss I'm-Going-To-Be-An-Auror. If he had to bet which of his three pureblood friends would be scared of being on a plane, his money would be on Artimus. Rosa wouldn't even cross his mind.
The plane eventually leveled out. Rosa calmed down, though she still had a death grip on her arm rests. A stewardess soon came by with the beverage cart. Both O'Bannon and Artimus ordered Cokes and also received their complementary bags of peanuts.
A perplexed look fell over Artimus' face as he held up his little bag. "This isn't the only thing they give us to eat, is it?"
"On a twelve hour flight? Heck no. We'll get a meal later on. Probably two since the flight's so long."
"Thank Merlin for that. Still . . ." Artimus examined his tiny bag. "Why are these bags so small? There can't be more than five or six peanuts in here."
O'Bannon shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe this airline's cheap."
He just took a sip of his Coke when he heard Rosa blurt, "I'll take anything with alcohol in it."
"May I see some ID?"
"ID? I'm seventeen."
"I'm sorry. Unless you're twenty-one, we can't serve you alcoholic beverages."
"What!?" Rosa sounded appalled. "Twenty-one? That's ridiculous."
"That's the law. What else would you like? We have Coke, Diet Coke, Sprite . . ."
"Nevermind," Rosa snapped.
As the beverage cart rolled past, O'Bannon looked over to her. "Rosa. Calm down."
She glowered at him and mouthed, "Stupid Muggle laws."
This time, O'Bannon agreed. Rosa would probably deal with flying better if she had a slight buzz. Or better yet, if she was completely hammered.
An hour into the flight, O'Bannon fell asleep. Hogwarts appeared before him. He wanted to walk toward the castle, but his feet remained rooted to the ground.
Several students skated around a frozen pond. O'Bannon recognized them. Members of the Triad hockey team and members of the Blazenrowe Hall hockey team from Salem. What were they doing on the same ice?
Hermione sat under a tree reading a book. Merak Mather and Draco Malfoy stood on the steps leading to the castle telling off-color jokes about Muggle-borns. Harry Potter flew above them all on his broom with . . . Rana Rollingsworth? What the . . .
Suddenly everyone vanished. O'Bannon felt the urge to run.
He still couldn't move.
A horde of creatures charged across the grounds. Werewolves, giants, wendigos. In front of them stood a lone figure.
Nymphadora Tonks, the auror who'd helped him during the Projection Potion incident.
O'Bannon tried to pull out his wand. He had to help Tonks.
He couldn't move.
Panic engulfed him. He tried to call out to her, tell her to run.
His mouth hung open silently.
The monsters drew closer to Tonks.
"I want soda!"
O'Bannon's eyes snapped open. He cringed as light flooded his vision.
"I want soda!"
O'Bannon groaned and turned around. Little Nicky was bouncing on his, singing, "Soda, soda, soda!"
"Nicky, please be good for momma," his mother said half-heartedly.
"I guess it was too much to wish for him to sleep for the rest of the flight," muttered Artimus, who sounded like he just woke up.
O'Bannon rubbed his eyes and noticed sunlight filtering through the open windows of the plane. Man, how long was I out? He checked his watch. 6:37 a.m. Boston time, that is. He'd have to remember to reset his watch.
He checked on Jared and Rosa. The cousins had switched seats, so Jared now sat by the window.
"Man, can you believe this?" Jared said in a hushed voice to Rosa. "You can't get a view like this on a broom. This plane is so cool."
Rosa didn't answer. She sat rigidly, staring ahead and nervously rubbing her fingers.
"Well, at least someone's enjoying this flight." O'Bannon yawned.
"Actually, this isn't as bad as I thought it'd be." Artimus stretched out his long legs.
"Even with the cheap-ass bag of peanuts?"
Artimus chuckled. He then sighed and pushed himself back in his seat. "Hey, Jimmy."
"Yeah?"
"I'm just thinking. What if we warn the Order of the Phoenix about the Longathian Tunnel and they still can't find it? What if all those dark creatures make it to England?"
O'Bannon worked his jaw back and forth. "I've thought about that a few times. I just figure the chances of finding that thing are better with two groups looking for it instead of one. Besides, I'm sure Headmaster Dumbledore will have a plan to deal with those creatures if they can't find the tunnel in time. He's a pretty shrewd guy."
"And you really think we can sneak into Hogwarts without anyone finding out?"
"Hey, I did it plenty of times with Fred and George and Lee. Trust me, we got the easy part of this mission."
"Gummy Bears!" Nicky hollered. "Gimmie Gummy Bears!"
O'Bannon clenched his jaw, trying to tune out the annoying brat.
Artimus chewed on his lower lip for a moment. "You think they'll be this easy once we join the Guild of the Light?"
"I don't know." O'Bannon shrugged. "I figure they'll start us off with some menial stuff before we can take on an entire army of Death Eaters by ourselves."
Artimus responded with a forced grin.
"Still," O'Bannon continued. "We don't have to worry about that until after graduation."
Artimus nodded. After a few seconds of silence he said, "So any idea what you're going to do after graduation? I mean, job-wise?"
O'Bannon slouched in his seat. "I still don't know. I mean, if I was a Muggle I'd be looking to go to college, maybe play hockey at some school like BU or Maine. But here . . . I don't know. I was thinking maybe become a sports reporter for The All Seeing Eye or the Wizard Broadcast Network. Of course, I have a lot more experience with hockey than Quidditch, so who knows if they'll . . ."
The plane suddenly bucked.
Artimus gasped.
Little Nicky shrieked.
"What the hell was that?" Rosa clenched her armrests and stared at O'Bannon in wide-eyed terror.
"It's just some turbulence. It happens."
"Can't they do anything about it?"
The plane shook again. Rosa's head whipped in all direction, the panic clear on her face.
"Rosa, this is a common thing."
"Well, why does it happen?"
"I don't know. Something to do with the air or something. Look, we just have to ride it out. We'll be fine."
Another tremor went through the plane. Rosa yelped. Little Nicky wailed.
"Stop it," said the boy's mother. "Be good."
Little Nicky continued to cry.
"You sure this is normal?" Tension radiated from Artimus.
"I went through it a couple times on my way back to Boston last year. I got through it without a problem." O'Bannon paused. "So what about you?"
"Huh?"
"After graduation. You still plan on working for your dad?"
"That's what he wants." Artimus cast his eyes to his lap.
"Is that what you want?"
"I don't know. I mean, my family's owned that chain of magical supply shops for over two hundred years."
"So? He's already got Horace and Arcadius working for him. I think the family business is in good hands."
Artimus thudded his head against the back of his seat. "I'd . . . I'd like to try to do something. On my own. But you know, my father wasn't happy when Hector went to work for the Department of Magic. He thinks being a civil servant is . . . well, beneath our family. I think he sort of looks at Hector as a failure. And if I do something outside the family business, is he going to think I'm a failure?"
Another bout of turbulence rattled the plane. Rosa took quick, panicked breaths. Nicky screamed his friggin' head off.
"If I give you your Gummy Bears, will you be good?" Nicky's mother reached into her handbag.
"Gummy Bears! I want Gummy Bears!"
O'Bannon sighed and turned back to Artimus. "Look, man. You gotta do what's best for you."
"And what if my father doesn't approve?"
Then screw him, O'Bannon wanted to say. "You are seventeen, you know. You're of age. Maybe you should try to make him understand you wanna find your own way in the world."
"Sure, he'll accept that. Like he has any faith in me to succeed on my own."
"Well here's you're chance to prove him wrong. And when you do succeed . . ."
The plane bounced.
O'Bannon glimpsed Little Nicky tearing open his bag of Gummy Bears. Little pieces of candy erupted from the bag and dropped all over the floor.
"No! No! NOOOOO!!"
He kicked the back of Rosa's chair. She slammed her palms on her armrest.
"My Gummy Bears!" Little Nicky bawled very, very loudly.
"Nicky, stop it," his mother urged.
"My Gummy Bears!" Nicky kicked Rosa's chair again.
Turbulence thumped the plane again. Rosa shut her eyes tight. Her head shook.
"My Gummy Bears!" Nicky kicked Rosa's chair again. "NOO!!"
He kicked it a fourth time.
Rosa growled and shot to her feet. She grasped the top of her chair and leaned over it, resembling a hawk diving on a mouse.
"IF YOU DON'T SHUT UP AND IF YOU DON'T STOP KICKING MY CHAIR, I SWEAR I AM GOING TO TURN YOU INTO A SLUG AND STOMP YOUR LITTLE ASS INTO THE FLOOR!!"
Little Nicky shivered as he gaped at Rosa, whose teeth were bared.
Nicky cried louder than ever.
"SHUT THE HELL UP!!"
Nicky still cried. His mother covered his little body with hers.
"Get away from my son!"
"Rosa, chill!" O'Bannon got to his feet.
"Rosa, what the hell's wrong with you?" Jared took hold of his cousin's shoulders and started pulling her back.
"What's going on here?" A stewardess hurried down the aisle, another one trailing her.
"This girl threatened my son!" Nicky's mother hugged the boy protectively.
"He keeps kicking my chair and he won't shut up!"
The lead stewardess turned to her partner. "Go alert the captain that we have an out of control passenger. We may have to divert the plane."
TO BE CONTINUED